Historical Election Results Data

General Overview

Access election results by precinct from the past 20 years, including federal, state, and local primaries, runoffs, and general elections in North Carolina, as well as precinct sorted results for recent elections. You may also view the certified election results for recent elections. 

Want to explore historical election results data in a different view? You can also use the Election Results Dashboard. Learn how to navigate the dashboard on the About the Election Results Dashboard page.

Looking for more detailed provisional and absentee ballot data? Visit our Provisional and Absentee Data page.

Results by Precinct

The files contain election results at the precinct level — specifically, the number of votes cast per choice (candidate or issue) per contest. Five vote counts are reported per entry: votes cast in-person on Election Day, votes cast absentee by mail, votes cast early via one-stop voting sites, votes cast provisionally, and total votes cast.  

What’s included? Contest information includes election date, contest title, and number of choices on the ballot. Candidate information includes name and party affiliation. Vote counts are broken down by county, precinct and voting method. See layout file for full list of variables.

Precinct Sorted Results

These files contain the results of an election after all absentee and accepted provisional ballots have been sorted into their respective precincts.

Why/when does the Precinct Sort take place?  Per §163-132.5G, county boards are required to provide vote tabulation data by precinct. The precinct sort is a post-election re-tabulation whereby precinct returns for each item on the ballot shall include the votes cast by all residents of that voting precinct who voted, regardless of where the voter voted. The precinct sort is to be completed within 30 days (previously 60) after the election.

Certified Election Results

These PDFs contain the certified election results for recent past elections. Certification comes after the 100 county boards of elections certify results at the county level and after a series of post-election audits by election officials verifies the counts. The bipartisan State Board of Elections then votes to certify the contests. 

The files are organized by election and canvass dates. “Canvass” means the entire process of determining that the votes have been counted and tabulated correctly, culminating in the authentication of the official election results. The State Board canvasses the votes cast in statewide, multicounty, and judicial contests and authenticates the count in every ballot item in the counties by determining that the votes have been counted and tabulated correctly.